In Search of Knowledge
by AlienAntFarm
Summary: A murder case and a dying man's words send Roy, Riza and company on a frantic chase to find Knowledge. When things go awry and the group is captured by insurgents, will these two finally own up to their emotions, or will it be too late? Set after the 2009 anime, ignores Manga, goes head cannon very quickly. Rated for violence, slight torture and possible later smut. Royai.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this is my first FMA story. I've been reading them for some time and have finally decided to write one. Hope everyone enjoys, please review (nicely).**

 **Few things: this is set after the anime, and I've played around with one of the ways I feel the series continues after the show ends.**

 **I've added some original characters, but I will try to keep canon characters as in-character as possible.**

 **Also, I have set the rating at M, because it may have mature things later on. If you feel at any time that it should change, please let me know.**

 **Sadly, I own nothing of Fullmetal Alchemist. Yes, it's very sad. :(**

In Search Of Knowledge

Chapter 1

"Keep it under control! Damn you, keep moving!"

The man turned abruptly, his dark blue coat swirling around him, so dark it almost blended with the night. His eyes flashed in anger and frustration as he bared his teeth, gritting out orders to the scattering of confused soldiers around him. The soldiers around him were worthless, he was sick of dealing with incompetence. If it weren't for that very same inability, he would have accomplished his mission years ago. His hand shot out, grabbing the neck of the closest unlucky soldier, a young private who was shaking in fright of his first battle.

The young man, in reality a boy in a man's world looked up at the officer holding his collar, as flashes of rifle shots filled the night, illuminating everything in erie bursts of brightness. The screams of the civilians running to seek shelter from the unexpected invasion mingled with the dull thumping of military boots down the deserted streets. The boy was terrified, this was his first true combat experience and he was so scared. All he could think was to force one foot ahead of the other, and even that was becoming difficult.

"Focus boy! This is nothing, a small skirmish. Ha! When I was your age I reveled in having fun like this." growled the officer. Looking past him, as if seeing something far away the man smiled, a dark smile, free of mirth or true laughter. The soldier cowered, even more convinced of the insanity of his superior. The man continued, speaking as though the young private wasn't even there.

"We will get what we came for. We must not fail…"

General Roy Mustang stepped out of his car in front of Central Headquarters. Tilting his head back against the glare of the sun, he shook some of the tension from his shoulders before pushing open the door. The newest case of his was stressful, he could feel the tension wearing on him. It seemed that it was an impossible task set in front of him, something that would never be completed. Granted, he knew that wasn't exactly true, but it still felt so daunting.

As he walked down the corridor, he smiled at a few people, before almost colliding with someone as they came rushing around the corner. Picking up the scattered papers she had dropped, the woman gasped, saluted and promptly dropped all of the papers again.

"General Mustang Sir! I am so sorry, I apologize for almost running you over, sir, please forgive me-" her breathless stutterings were cut short by Mustang.

"It's alright Sargeant, no harm done. Are you alright?" He smiled to himself at her clumsy shyness. As the newest and youngest secretary, she was known for causing chaos wherever she went. He wondered what her hurry was today. Fuhrer Grumman's staff was constantly in an uproar because of her.

"Oh no Sir, I'm fine!" Sergeant Adira smiled shyly at him, wondering to herself about what kind girl in her right mind wouldn't feel a little flustered? The whole command knew most of the women had a crush on the popular and handsome Roy Mustang, and she knew that there was little need for explanation! She had heard the rumors of his exploits with the ladies; he were infamous. Interestingly, it seemed lately to not be as easy to gain his attention as as rumor said it once had been. He seemed disinterested, but the women were convinced he could be won around. The only problem lay in catching his eye…

Her internal musings were cut short abruptly by the General saying that yes, it had been pleasant, glad she was ok, but he would be heading off now, before someone had his head on a platter for being late. He turned to head off down the hall with one final goodbye gesture. There was something Adira knew she needed to tell him. She looked at the ceiling, biting her lip as she tried to remember. Suddenly, it hit her, like a train running full steam into a fluffy feather mattress, scattering thoughts like downy feathers.

"General! General Mustang!" She flew off down the hall like a cyclone, leaving several bewildered soldiers shaking in the wake of her rushed flight. She caught up with him a little ways down the hall, catching his sleeve as she tried to gain his attention. He turned, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Uhmm… yes? Sergeant What's wrong"

"Gener- _*gasp*_ General Musta- _*pant*_ " She struggled to caught her breath enough to speak clearly. "General Mustang sir! Fuhrer Grumman wishes to speak with you!" she finished triumphantly.

"Thank you, Sergeant. I'll speak to him as soon as I can." With that abrupt dismissal, Roy turned way, musing to himself. He assumed it is about the Bledcaugh murders, at least he hoped so. It was incredibly frustrating to just keep to hit dead end after dead end! Grumman must want us to speed up things, and finding a new lead might very well do that, if not bring a solution to it all. He turned to open to the door to his office, never even noticing the forgotten girl standing sadly in the hall behind.

The scene Roy walked into was interesting to say the least. Second Lieutenant Havoc was standing on a table, seeming to deliver an impassioned speech. Sergeant Feury and Second Lieutenant Falman looked on in glee, as Second Lieutenant Breda gave encouraging remarks. In the background, Lieutenant Hawkeye was working at her desk, doing her utmost to ignore the shenanigans occurring around her.

"So she dumped you because you weren't in your wheelchair anymore? That's the lamest excuse ever, she just knew she couldn't get rid of you once you could chase after her!" Breda teased mercilessly.

"Not true!" Havok waved his hands in the air, trying to maintain his hold over his audience, "She knew that when I was out of that stupid chair she wouldn't be equal to the task of being my girlfriend, I already explained this to you! She was leaving- at great personal and emotional sacrifice- in order to allow a better-suited girl into my life."

Roy rolled his eyes at their antics, nodding to Hawkeye as he went past to his inner office. He noticed her hair was a little messy, and she had a smudge of ink on her cheek. He felt a slight prickle of guilt that she had been busy at work while he had been… well not working. He was about to stop and offer to bring her a cup of coffee when he heard his phone ring inside his office. He turned from Riza and he hurried to go answer it.

"General Mustang." He said in way of greeting.

"Roy!" The Ferhur's voice rang over the line. "I have been needing to speak to you, but didn't want to have to walk over. How are things going on the Bledcaugh case? Anything new?"

"Sir! We are working with all diligence" There was a heavy thump from the outer office, followed by a loud metallic bang, "and we have followed up several promising leads… But so far nothing substantial."

Grumman sighed through the phone. "It's as I thought, this case hasn't been too promising, but that is why I gave it to you! I did hear something about strange happenings on North Fergus Avenue. You might want to check there later today. Well, good luck!" And with that he hung up.

Roy stared at the phone. As much as he respected Grumman, he was still a strange man. Oh well, no matter. Roy now had another lead to follow up, as well as some very juvenile soldiers to deal with. He pushed open his office door, stepping over Havok and Breda who were engaged in what appeared to be a wrestling match. The entire office was literally covered in papers, presumably from whatever desk was currently lying sideways, providing a shield for Fuery. Black Hayate was excited by all of the commotion and was jumping about, as Hawkeye continued to work diligently at her desk.

 _Seriously_ , Roy thought, _how did that woman manage?_ She was incredible. He had known, in fact been with lenty of women over the years, but he had never met anyone who fascinated him quite like Riza Hawkeye. She was not only mysterious, but she was also unimpressed by his masculine charms. He really needed to focus better today, normally he had it under control, but as a wad of paper hit him in the side of the head his attention was drawn back to the energetic group in front of him.

"Alright, listen up!" He yelled over the noise, as Fallman launched a paperweight missile toward Feury's hiding place. "Quiet! I said be Quiet!" The noise and mayhem continued, no one paying any attention to their commanding officer.

Bang! Bang! Two gun shots rang out, everyone freezing in their tracks. Roy turned, hands slightly raised in defense to see Riza putting her gun away, a slight smirk on her face.

"When the General says quiet, he means shut up." She said, and then nodded for Roy to continue with whatever he had been doing.

"Thank you Lieutenant" Roy nodded, and then he continued with his announcement. "Come on, everyone we have a new lead in south town. North Fergus Avenue to be exact, Fuhrer Grumman heard of a possible lead on the Bledcaugh murders. Havok, I want you to get up off the floor and give us a full briefing on the way there."

 **End of chapter 1! Hope you like, please leave reviews… constructive criticism is appreciated, so feel free to point out problems.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So now we have chapter 2! As always, I love reviews, and if you see an issue, problem, or anything that needs to be improved let me know and I will do my best to fix it. :) I am still learning writing techniques, and I feel the perspective flops too much in this chapter- it seems odd to me- if anyone has any suggestions let me know.**

 **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor any of the characters. Which is a crying shame, I would have so much fun if they were mine!**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 2

The car ride to south town was mildly uneventful. With Riza driving and Roy having called shotgun, the remaining four men squished themselves into the backseat. After much pushing and shoving and elbows stabbing into ribs, they were all settled. Havok began the briefing by lighting a fresh cigarette, as his had been crushed by Breda.

"So as everyone probably knows, this case is about the murder of Isaac Bledcaugh who was killed 2 years ago in a small village a little ways north of here. His murder alone wasn't a big deal, a country anomaly- something strange and isolated. Almost exactly a year ago, a homeless man in Eastern was killed... Again no one applied much thought. What's one more homeless person dead?"

At this point Feury interrupted, "What makes it seem like the murders are connected? They were in completely different areas, right?"

Havok glared at his interrupter. "I'm getting to it! Be patient." he said in an annoyed tone.

"But do get on with it, at least sometime today Havok." Riza interjected.

Havok gracelessly ignored the both of them and went back to his briefing. "As I was saying... There were the two murders. So far just thought of as isolated or coincidence. Until last week, when a third murder happened. It seems they might be connected."

"The murders were all very similar, in terms of how they were carried out," Roy stated, "and they seem very systematic, as though they aren't random killings but planned. Whether they are an attempt to remove certain people, find something or are a warning is yet to be figured out. So far every lead have proven useless."

"Thats why we are headed over today isn't it? There must be some new evidence." Falman was paying rapt attention.

Roy nodded. "Grumman merely said there was something I should look into." Truth be told, he had no idea what they were getting into, if it would even prove useful. He had to follow every lead, but he sometimes wondered if the Fuehrer gave hi this case just to annoy the crap out him and to remind him that his job was useless and miserable.

The car rounded a corner, and Riza nearly threw everyone through the front windshield as she slammed on the brakes. The backseat riders set a up loud protest, but Riza pointed down the street, where a man was running, having barely escaped being hit by the car. He seemed to not be phased as he continued his frantic flight down the street, running as hard as he possibly could.

"Nearly killed us and himself, the stupid fool!" Roy yelled as he leaned out the window to see where the fugitive had gone. He couldn't see very well, since this section of town was darker, with rather derelict old houses looming a few stories tall, their balconies and upper sections leaning out over the street below, effectively blocking the sunlight.

From behind they suddenly heard shouts "get him!" and "there he goes!" as the man's pursuers began nearing the car. It became clear that the man was a military fugitive, judging by the squad of blue jacket soldiers hurrying to catch him, their commander hot on their heels yelling to speed up. Roy and his men had their doors open in an instant and began running down the street in the direction the man had gone.

They could see him turn the corner up ahead, and just as they lost sight of him, shots rang out. The man had run into another group of soldiers. He then panicked and lunged at one in a vain attempt to find an escape. The soldiers fired, not knowing what else to do.

Roy pushed through the gathering of people to where the man lay on the ground, a pool of blood collecting under as his life source drained away. A soldier jumped to attention and saluted.

"General Sir! This man was an escaped prisoner, we nearly had him apprehended when he attacked one of my men."

"At ease, Sergeant." Roy said, dismissing the man.

He squatted down, and grabbed the man's hand. Such a stupid waste of life. He had no idea who this man was, but there was plenty of bloodshed and death without the military shooting people in the streets. If nothing else, an innocent civilian could have been harmed by stray bullets.

Behind him, he heard Riza began barking out orders, telling someone to fetch a doctor, someone else to find her some temporary bandages. She worked well in emergencies, her cool demeanor allowing her to think clearly and set priorities, while instructing those around her. She leant an air of peace and stability to any situation, which reinforced people turning to er, and provided comfort.

On the ground, the man flailed his hand, seeking someone. Roy leaned close, expecting to hear a death confession. The man grasped Roy's collar and pulled him close so he could whisper into his ear. What he said was surprising and undeniably confusing.

"Find… you must find" the man gasped, trying to form the words as his body failed him, "you must find Knowledge."

Roy and Riza were back at Central, having left the others to snoop around and see if they could find anything about Grummond's lead. Roy was thinking over what the man had said. It didn't make sense to "find knowledge"- knowledge of what? Knowledge was a thing, an abstract idea, it could be gained but it wasn't a found object, or was it? It was something you continued to work toward increasing throughout your life, it wasn't like an artifact, that could be found and placed in a museum. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, his life just continued to get more complicated. And he had a headache to compound everything.

Suddenly, he felt a soft, cool hand on his. Hde looked up to see Riza standing near, an uncustomary soft look on her face. Her eyes seemed to show worry, as she looked down at him. It was in these moments Roy felt happiest. Yes, he would deny it fiercely protesting a lack of interest, but nothing made him feel more alive than the fleeting snatches of softness on Riza's face. A fleeting smile here, a quickly hidden glance was all it took to make him heart seem to flop within his chest. This was one such time. He felt the a familiar tightening deep within him, as though someone were squeezing his heart.

As much as he adored these moments, as usual it seemed over before it had truly begun. Riza apparently realized the compromising position her hand was in and snatched it away as though it were on fire. Did she hate him so much that she didn't even want to make physical contact with him? She spoke then seemingly to cover the awkwardness of the situation, something that had happened more and more frequently as of late.

"Are you alright, Sir? Is your head hurting you?" She tilted her head, scrutinizing his health in a quick, effective look.

"No, no more so than usual." Roy said. "That man in the streets did say something strange, right as he was dying."

Riza raised her eyebrows, signalling him to continue.

"He told me to 'find knowledge' whatever that means."

Ria pondered for a moment. "What knowledge? Perhaps a new form or type of alchemy?"

"I don't know, but I would appreciate it if you would look into it. I think I shall go see what I can find in my office." He stood to leave. He knew, that she knew, that he had no intention of researching in his office, unless the insides of his eyelids during a nap counted as work. Nevertheless, his head hurt far too badly to think about reading.

While maintaining a peeved expression- after all, appearances must be maintained- Riza was not upset at Roy for going to "research", he had so much responsibility she didn't begrudge him a short nap. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she gazed after him, as if she could see him through a closed door. Her hand still was warm from where she had touched him; she rubbed absently at the spot.

It was in moments after these, and the dark hours in her bed alone and so lonely, that her thoughts strayed to him. Surely he had heard the rumors, that with the new governmental changes, the new Fuhrer even, that the fraternization laws were to be relaxed, possibly even removed completely. She sighed. It seemed so unfair.

With an abrupt shake of her head, and a stern admonishment to herself that schoolgirl fantasies such as those would accomplish nothing, she headed off toward the research library to see if she could find any actual information for the General.

 **Life is getting busy... new job etc. I'll be updating as I can. Please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And now we have chapter 3! We finally see the Elric brothers here, Yayyy!**

 **Please leave reviews… I'm not trying to beg I just want to know if anyone is actually reading this, and what you think of it.**

 **As always, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor any of the characters, no matter how much I wish I did.**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 3 

Riza entered the research library, coughing as cloud of dust enveloped her. Down each wall of the room, and filling the center area were shelves and shelves of books. The covers were mostly threadbare and worn, from years for reading and slight neglect. The books were mainly brown and black military volumes, records of past happenings, but interspersed among them were colorful, smaller books and pamphlets, detailed alchemy journals dating from eons before her time.

Dainty cobwebs hung from the undersides of some of the shelves like a strange, gruesome lace decoration. Riza never really liked this particular library; it was where all of the old materials went and as such it was the least visited, giving the room a deserted, tomb-like feel. But, since it was the outdated items, it was possible it would probably have information of the sort they were looking for.

As Riza walked slowly up and down the rows, she scanned each book trying to find something that might have to do with knowledge. If only they had more understanding about what the man had been talking about! Knowledge could be any number things, perhaps a specific area of knowledge… She walked into the farthest back corner, searching for anything that might prove helpful. The dust here was thicker the farther back she walked, having accumulated from years of no one tampering with anything.

Then she noticed something interesting. On a far back shelf, near the top was an area that the dust had recently been disturbed. Not too recent, for there was a thing layer of dust, but nothing like the thick, choking amounts covering every other surface. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers over the shelf and then grabbed the three books directly behind the disturbed area.

She flipped them over and read the covers; the first she automatically discarded, due to it being a boring list of military retirees from 80 years before. The other two seemed promising; one was a strange, antiquated alchemic history book, and the second was a compilation of journal reports from a large newspaper. What caught her eye about the news journal book was someone had left a large red bookmark hanging out from between the pages. Opening it, she found multiple pages has been marked and careful notes had been made in the margins.

Humming quietly to herself, she slipped the books into jacket pocket, and headed toward the door. As she pulled it open, someone pushed it quickly from the other side, nearly slamming into her face. She jumped back to avoid being hit. The man standing on the other side was wearing a military uniform but he wasn't someone she recognized. His rank pins denoted him as a Major but one not stationed in Central. He had a fierce scowl on his face and Riza felt a strange feeling deep inside herself when he looked down at her.

"Pardon me." She politely said and made to move past him. He was still standing, one hand on the door knob. He seemed unsure of himself, as if he didn't know quite what to do. As she moved though it seemed to cause him to make up his mind.

He shifted his body forward, not enough to be obvious but enough that she couldn't make her way past him. He loomed over her. Riza wasn't liking where this was going. She attempted to step back to allow the officer to enter the room but he made no move to do so, rather he reached out and grabbed her arm. His grip was rock hard and felt like a band of steel wrapped around her arm. She barely kept herself from flinching, as he leaned forward his voice harsh and grating.

"Have you found anything interesting? This isn't an often used area, what might have brought you here?"

Riza had recovered herself and snatched her arm away. "What I am doing here is my business, now excuse me I must get back to my superior."

This time she didn't bother with waiting for him to get out for the way, she pushed past him and hurried off down the hall. Behind her, she heard the man call out: "Be careful Lieutenant! You are entering something you know nothing about!" 

Edward Elric scowled as he looked out the window of the train. Next to him his younger brother Alphonse noticed his sour mood. Alphonse craned his neck, trying to see what might have upset his brother. Seeing nothing, he resorted to the tried and true brother language. He poked his brother in the ribs.

"What was that for?" Edward scooted away, "You have pointy fingers!"

"Sorry, you just seemed lost in not so nice thoughts." Alphonse explained. "What is troubling you?"

"I'm not really troubled," Ed sighed "I'm just missing… home already."

Al seemed skeptical; "We've been gone for about 3 hours!" His eyes lit up, "You miss Winry!" He broke out in loud laughter, but then noticed how sad his brother did look. "It's ok brother you will see her soon enough; after we up those parts she sent us for, we can say hello to everyone at Central and then head back. It won't be more than two days maximum."

Despite Alphonse's reassurances, Ed still didn't seem convinced. After years of him avidly denying it, Edward and Winry were finally living up to their emotions and were well on their way toward wedding bells.

"So he seemed to know why you were there? But how could he know you would be there and why would he be interested." Roy's puzzled expression mirrored everyone else's. "We are the only ones assigned to this case." 

Fallman spoke up, "Also Sir, we don't know who he is. Or who sent him for that matter."

"I feel maybe it was coincidence," Riza interjected "he seemed caught off guard that I was there. Perhaps he was just in the same place at the same time." She wasn't exactly unnerved- it wasn't in her nature to be easily scared- but it still struck her as odd. She now felt that they should proceed with all caution.

Roy didn't like to think that someone was perhaps following or keeping an eye on the movements of him and his team. It felt as though not even in Central there could be safety. After the Homunculi threat had been dealt with he had assumed all was fine in the world, and that he could relax his guard. Apparently it was not so.

"Well whatever he thought you were taking seemed to be important to him, let's at least take a look at it."

The officers gathered in the room then turned their attention toward the two books Riza had brought with her. The books in question were lying on the desk, seemingly innocuous and, to anyone looking, not necessary of the slight incident they had caused. Roy flipped one open and they all bent over his shoulder to read. It was the journal of news events, dating back about 10 years. The marked page was an article about a man who had been murdered several years previously.

"This is the Bledcaugh case!" Feury exclaimed, "But why would it be marked?"

"Perhaps this might be the reason." Said Riza, leaning past him to set the history book on the table. She pointed to a map on the inner flap, a close detail of a city in the South Area, a little further west than Dublith. The map showed the city- Ederbrack- in a little expanded area, set on a background of the larger map of the South Area of Amestris. Her finger then jumped across to the book Roy was reading, to point to a date and place stamp on the article. The names matched; Ederbrack was both the place on the map and the site of the murder that had happened two years before. 

**So end of chapter 3! Please review. If there are any geographical issues let me know I did research but I'm not sure I have everything right. As always please tell me of anything I can change, or any possible things you might want included.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4, Yay!**

 **So life is getting busy… I may slow down with the updates just so everyone knows.**

 **Also, shout-out to Alexandra: thank you for your review, I really appreciate it.**

 **As usual: I own nothing!**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 4

 _The map showed the city- Ederbrack- in a little expanded area, set on a background of the larger map of the South Area of Amestris. Her finger then jumped across to the book Roy was reading, to point to a date and place stamp on the article. The names matched; Ederbrack was both the place on the map and the site of the murder that had happened two years before._

This couldn't just be a coincidence, there had to be some connection there between why the history book and the Bledcaugh case had happened in the same place. Ederbrack wasn't known for any sort of military scandal or cover- up; there had been no horrific massacres or natural anomalies that Roy knew of. Yet, there seemed to be some sort of information he should remember, something important that was just barely out of his reach. The thought seemed to hover at the edge of his mind, but he couldn't get a hold of it and therefor decided to let it be since it would come to him eventually.

"I wonder…" Riza began, "I wonder if perhaps Bledcaugh had military connections, such as working for someone. That would be the only explanation for his files being there."

"Yeah, the only problem is finding out what his connection was." Havok weighed in.

With Aerugo being the closest country to Ederbrack, the records for the area were sometimes sketchy, with things often lost due to the near constant fighting. This, combined with deep corrupted the military had been ruled by up until recently made finding any valuable information very difficult.

"I am sure we will find something." Roy stated. "For now, I will read over these carefully and see what I can find."

His men saluted and headed out, discussing the strange case among themselves. Lieutenant Riza stayed behind allowing the others to go on ahead. She came around to Roy's side of the desk, pulling her chair close. She was so close Roy could smell her, an interesting mix of scents that intrigued him. She smelled of freshly washed uniform interspersed with the sharp scent of gun cleaning oil, all overlaid with something very Riza, nothing he could lay his finger on, but something he could always identify.

He supposed it should frighten him maybe that he could so identify her scent, or that he put so much time and thought into it. But then again he spent countless hours everyday thinking about nothing but her, so it stood to reason that he would have applied thought to the way she smelled. She was forever complaining about his lack of work ethic, claiming he never did any work, when really she was the main issue. How was he supposed to accomplish anything with her always being so damned attractive and fascinating?

With a possible removal of the fraternization laws, it was literally all he could think of. He had already planned where he would take her for a first date; the only problem lay in the fact that she showed no interest in him whatsoever! He didn't understand. He had known her longer than anyone else, they worked together almost everyday, they worked well together, he himself was charming, handsome the perfect man for her…

He was jerked abruptly out of his thought into one of those awkward moments when you know the other person has asked you a question, but you have no idea what they might have said. Rather than hazarding a guess and answering, he did the intelligent choice of looking her straight in the face and saying;

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?" Perhaps maybe not the smartest move, judging by her facial expression of extreme annoyance. No matter, at least he hadn't gotten himself roped into bathroom cleaning like the last time he had answered without confirming the question.

"I asked, Sir, if maybe this was something to do with research, maybe along the lines of Lab Five. The article says here that Bledcaugh was a history professor at University, as well as working on archaeological sites. Maybe he was doing research and found something he shouldn't have."

Roy scratched his chin in thought. "That's a good point, Lieutenant. We should look into it further. It interests me to see what this manuscript says about alchemic history. If he was a history buff, maybe this might have tell us why he felt the need to travel all the way to Ederbrack."

Riza nodded, then the two of them bent back over the books, one to thoroughly read and make careful notes, the other one not so carefully do the same.

"I think that's everything." Ed announced, jostling his way through the crowd as he created a path for his younger brother. Having recently recovered his body, Al was easily tired and walking for any distance- especially against such a mass of people- tended to be difficult for him. The two brothers were leaving an automail parts store, with both boys carrying large bundles of things Winry had claimed were highly necessary.

In Al's opinion, the amount of things Winry needed was ridiculous, who needed five wrenches, all exactly the same? But since she was In Charge, he and Ed would be more than willing to fetch the supplies. He was looking forward to seeing everyone. It had been almost six months since their last meeting, and although letters went back and forth and the phone was always available, it just wasn't the same as seeing everyone face-to-face.

"Let's go put everything at the hotel then head over and say hi to everyone." Al looked so expectant and hopeful that Ed could in no possible way say no. Plus he wanted to see all of his friends also, no matter how much he refuted it.

"Alright you sentimental dork, our hotel is down this way."

Al grinned. "I knew you missed the group as much as I did! I can't wait to see if miss Riza and Roy are together yet. Oh! And they haven't heard about you and Windy, I am sure they will be thrilled to find out."

"They aren't gonna find out!" you could almost see the steam coming out of Ed's ears, "what Winry and I do is no business of the bastard colonel!"

"You do know he is a general now, right?" Al continued to tease his brother as they walked down the less crowded sidewalk. The familiar pattern of teasing was fun and refreshing, both of them playing their respective parts in the teasing war.

The door to Roy Mustang's office slammed open with a dramatic flair. Both the lieutenant and the general jumped, nearly banging their heads together, having been so engrossed in studying the books laid out on the table. Roy looked peeved when he saw who it was interrupting his work.

"Do you ever knock?" He glared daggers down at Edward.

Edward returned the favor by glaring and was about to make a rude comment in return when Al interrupted him. "Hello miss Riza, general Mustang. We had to come to Central to make a supply trip for Winry and thought we stop in to say good afternoon. I hope we aren't interrupting anything." He smiled his soft, almost childlike smile.

Riza in a rare moment of softness, returned his smile, conversing with Al as though Roy and Ed didn't even exist in the same room. "It's been good here- we are working on a difficult case at the moment. But we are always glad to see you and your brother."

Roy glared at her in dismay. How could she so abandon him, he obviously needed back up and here she was being so nice to the boys! But then again it allowed him to see a side of her he hardly ever saw, the side of her that was kind, almost motherly. He turned back to see Ed pick up the alchemy book from the table and begin flipping through it. He snorted in amusement.

"Have you started reading good for nothing legends?" Ed flipped rapidly through the pages.

"What do you mean?" Roy queried.

Ed waved the book at Mustang. "This is nothing but fairy tales, legends for greedy alchemists. We read this when we were far younger. But the whole story couldn't possibly be true, or else someone would have found Knowledge long before now."

Roy jerked to attention, as out of the corner of his eye he saw Riza do the same. "Knowledge? That's what the man in the street said to find."

Ed squinched his eyes, trying to understand. "You mean someone told you where to find knowledge? But it's just a legend… I thought"

"Yes, and this article," Riza held it up, "has some sort of connection. We were just trying to figure it out."

"We also want to know what this knowledge is exactly. Is it knowledge in general or a specific type?" Roy explained. "We read some of the book, but parts of it are in Aerugonian, and my knowledge of that language is limited."

Ed looked intrigued. "Knowledge isn't a specific knowledge of a subject, it is knowledge itself. Legends say an alchemist in ancient time tried to access the Gate of Truth, in order to barter for access to all knowledge. He gave a sacrifice he shouldn't have, one he didn't have the authority to give."

"The alchemist gained all Knowledge," Al said, taking up the narrative; "but it drove him insane and he died within a few days. It is said he couldn't stop screaming, the amount of information he gained just destroyed his mind. We had always thought it was just a legend to dissuade alchemists from attempting anything of that sort."

"But it couldn't possibly be true." Ed insisted. "there is no way one person could hold Knowledge. I mean, opening the Gate grants Knowledge, but not full and complete."

"I want to know," said Riza, "what it was that he sacrificed? We know the Philosopher's Stone was made from millions of lives, what could be worse so as to dissuade alchemists to not attempt it themselves?"

Roy picked up the book, as Ed and Al did their best to look everywhere but directly at Riza.

"I think this might explain." Roy laid the book open on the table as he pointed to a picture on one of the pages. It was a crude drawing of a young child, seemingly all thin arms and legs and wide, innocent eyes. The child was lying in the middle of a complicated transmutation circle, blood running in rivules away from them, staining the floor in crimson streaks. The child's expression- even in death- was one of puzzlement, eyes stared unseeing out of the page, as though they were silently asking what happened to them.

 **End of chapter 4. Hope everyone likes it! And thank you to everyone who has favorited or followed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Everyone!**

 **Thank you again to everyone who is reading, favoriting, following and reviewing! It is wonderful to know you are enjoying my story.**

 **I had said before that life was getting hectic, it still is but I will definitely try to keep on top of the posting.**

 _ **Italics**_ **are thoughts.**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 5

Riza looked at the picture, and felt something twist inside her. How could anyone kill someone else in cold blood like that, much less an innocent child? She herself had killed, many times, but each and every time she had done so, as well as remembered those times, she felt the nauseating horror of what she had done. She had killed because she was ordered to do so, it was kill or be killed. But to murder solely for selfish, personal gain was beyond her.

Although she didn't seem to be a compassionate person, Riza had always had a soft spot for children. She supposed that the innocence of children was perhaps something she envied, the childish trust and unfettered love that they displayed being something she found herself longing for. On top of this, she had always wanted a child of her own, a sweet little bundle that would be something born from love, something completely and utterly a gift from herself and whomever she spent the rest of her life with.

Her love of children was why she had been drawn to Alphonse, and to some degree Edward, when they had first come to Central, despite Al's less-than childlike appearance, he was still obviously to her a young, scared little boy searching for his mother. It was really then that she had first felt the pullings of motherly instinct. She knew children were probably not on the horizon for her, there was probably nothing in her future but a long and accomplished military career, but she could still hope. For that matter, settling down and getting married were almost definitely out of the question. After all, who could ever want someone as damaged and screwed-up as she was?

She moved and traced her finger across the picture, as though she could somehow find answers from the ancient drawing. "If this was so long ago, why are we just now finding information about it?"

Roy held up the articles. "Bledcaugh had made some findings in this area, apparently he either found Knowledge or found how to find it. Someone didn't want him to continue down that path. What we still don't know is what Knowledge is."

Havok and Fallman chose that moment to enter the room. They joined the group gathered around the table, giving hellos to the two boys. Havk was carry a sheaf of papers, which he used to swat Ed on the back of the head. Ed glared daggers at him, with a look to rival Winry's broken-automail pissed-off face.

"Find anything, chief?" Havok dawled, swiveling his cigarette in his mouth, appearing to be unfazed by Ed's death stare. "Or should I just go back to my nap?"

Roy chose to ignore the second part of the sentence, and instead began catching everyone up to speed, outlining the possible connection between the town of Ederbrack, the research findings of Isaac Bledcaugh, as well as giving a quick detail of what legend claimed Knowledge was.

"That's a nasty piece of business. I can't imagine killing a child to attain anything, even if it was vast knowledge." Fallman made his stance known.

Riza interjected with her usual common sense, "But we truly don't know what the connection is exactly between these two things. The only one who could tell us is Isaac Bledcaugh or the man in the street, and they are both dead."

"Speaking of him," Havok said holding up his file, "I did some digging and apparently he is an alchemist from the Aerugo border. He was brought to Central a few days ago for questioning, but no one will tell why."

Roy took the stack of papers from his and quickly skimmed through them. "Well I think a trip to Ederbrack is necessary. I don't think we are gonna find out much more from these books. We can look more into who that man was down south in any case." Roy turned to leave. "Elrics, you are welcome to join us. We will leave in the morning."

"They found the books! Dammit I told you to get there first! If they make any headway it could be our ruin."

The man listened intently for a moment, his frown depending.

"Fine- you tried- you are sorry- end of story. I want you to head to Ederbrack and make sure no one talks. And if the general finds anything, I want you to make sure he doesn't come back. Do you understand me?"

The man slammed the phone back onto the desk, nearly breaking the holder in his anger. _Stupid fools!_ he thought to himself. _This must not be discovered. I will find a way to gain for myself the power of Knowledge, and nothing, not even this upstart general, will stand in my way._

Riza and Alphonse sat on the train, waiting on the other to finsih loading their bags. Riza was alittle nervous taking Al with them, since it was obvious his health was still very frial, but she was glad to have him along. He was always so polite anf thoughtful.

"So how have you and Ed been?" She asked, searching for deeper answer than oh we've been fine!

Al smiled widely, happy to share the latest dirt on his brother; "Ed finally asked Winry out! They have been officially together for about a month now. There is talk of a wedding later this fall."

"That is so exciting! I am very happy for them." Riza truly was. It was good to know that after everything they had gone through, there could still be young, fresh love.

"What about you and the general?" Al wasn't going to let a good opening like that pass. He grinned widely at Riza, waiting for her response. He was pleased to see a pink tinge creep up her neck to her ears.

Riza could feel the blush, starting between her shoulder blades and going up. She tried her best to hide it, but to no avail. "There is nothing on with the general and me. We are good friends I like to think, nothing more. And anyway with the fraternization laws in place, even if we wanted more we couldn't have anything."

"I heard those rules are soon to be abolished." Al was like a dog with a bone, he wasn't giving up on this.

Sadly, before he could pursue his quest even further, he was interrupted by the arrival of the others. Roy and Ed seemed to be arguing over something, no surprise there, while Havok looked on in amusement. He sat down next to Riza and leaned in confidentially to whisper: "Do you think Central will be ok in the hands of the others while we are gone? I mean they could blow up half the country before we get back…"

Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Seriously, she worked with a bunch of children she felt like. The train pulled out of the station as she sat back, relaxing and listening to Roy egging on poor Ed, who cheerfully rose to the bait.

"And then I had to stop and ask if anyone had seen Ed, since I couldn't find him. Then I heard this voice behind the suitcases, turns out I just couldn't see him. He was completely hidden by the stack."

"It was a very tall stack! You could have hidden Armstrong behind it!"

"No, I seem to remember it being a short stack, not unlike-"

"Who are you calling short, you old bastard!"

Riza chuckled to herself, it felt like old times again. If only Riza had known to appreciate these moments a little more, since it would be a while before she had something to laugh about, because of what was waiting for them at end of the line.

 **Duh Duh Duuuuh… Sorry couldn't resist the overly dramatic foreshadowing.**

 **As always, leave a review, lemme know how it's going, what you would like to see, etc.**


	6. Chapter 6

**And now Chapter 6!**

 **So I decided to try and speed things up so if the end of the chapter feels like it picks up pace it's because it does. Hopefully it doesn't feel too rushed.**

 **Here is the necessary disclaimer… I own (most) of a car and a large shoe collection, but I don't own FMA or any of the characters.**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 6

With a loud metallic huff, the train pulled into South City. The group from Central stepped off at the platform, moving stiffly due to the long ride. Roy sent Havok and a much complaining Ed to go collect the baggage while he and Riza headed to find the commander of South Headquarters. Al trailed behind Ed and Havok, attempting to keep the two of them from throwing bundles at one another.

The weather in the south was warmer than Central, with the air feeling almost denser with humidity. In the background like an ever present giant were mountains, not craggy unfriendly beasts, but tall, heavily foliaged masses. Stretching down from the mountains were dense expanses of trees, to become small shrubs near the road sides.

Roy and Riza reached the main building of Headquarters within a fairly short amount of time. It was large imposing building, like most military architecture. It was built without any unnecessary decoration, just looming gray walls that seemed to have an impressive view of the lower beings scurrying about the streets. The flags hanging down the front of the building stirred lightly in the breeze, yet the air still felt oppressive. Something about the whole town made Roy feel on edge.

The two of them entered the building, quickly finding their way to the commander, a general Braust whose office was guarded by a fierce, buxom woman, a major judging by the emblems on her shoulders. The woman glared at Roy and Riza. Underneath her heavy eyebrows, dark fierce eyes seeming to drill holes in them with an accusatory glare.

"Well," she said not even giving time for introductions "what do you want? The general is very busy."

Roy replied politely, despite her rudeness. "We are from Central, here on an investigation. We wanted to speak with the General in the hopes of getting some more information."

"He is very busy, and unless you have an appointment I don't think I can let you in. You might as well head back to whatever desk job you have in Central"

Riza thought it wise to step in at this point, before Roy incinerated the entire complex, "As adjutant to General Mustang I need to inform you it is not appropriate nor wise to speak in such a manner."

This seemed to give the woman pause but only for a minute. "I apologize General Mustang. If you will wait, I can see if General Braust can see you. Could you give me the specific as to what you need to converse with him?"

Roy nodded, "We are investigating a triple-murder with possible military connections. We want to know if General Braust has any more information before we head to Ederbrack."

The Major froze in her tracks, as though she had been electrocuted. "Ederbrack?" She looked almost terrified. "No, no you will need to go home. No one goes in or out of Ederbrack, it is under military control."

"What do you mean we can't go there? I demand to see the General." Roy was having none of her.

"I am sorry I must go." And with that she disappeared into the inner office. Roy rushed after her, trying the doorknob but it had locked behind her. He could hear a murmur of voices for just a moment and then silence. He banged his fist on the door, trying to gain the attention of someone. After fruitless minutes of incessant pounding, Riza pulled him away.

"It's no good, Sir. There is something strange going on here, let's go find the others."

The two of them walked quickly from the building, heading toward the train station.

"I have an uneasy feeling about this whole situation, the sooner we are out here the better."

Riza nodded in agreement. "What could make her so adamant about the military having closed it? And why have we never heard of this?"

Suddenly Roy ducked into a restaurant, as Riza scrambled to keep up. He hurried to the back of the large open cafe, toward the phone hanging on the wall. He lifted the receiver and dialed a few numbers. He waited a few counts until he heard the line pick up.

"Fuhrer Grumman? This is General Mustang. I need to speak to you about something…"

Ed stomped through the streets, in a very foul mood. Behind him, Havok kept a slower pace with Al, both wisely giving a wide berth to the Great Wrath Of Edward. Ed was fuming. The man at the train station had tried to sell him a child's ticket, which caused Ed to become unreasonably offended, and he had begun ranting and raving. Al was surprised there hadn't been any explosions, it had been known to happen.

From up ahead they saw two blue uniforms pushing their way through the crowd. Havok waved his hand and called out: "Yoohoo! Over here!"

Al giggled, "Are you trying to pick them up as a date?"

Havok glared icily at him and then strode over to Roy. "There are no trains going to Ederbrack. It's apparently a restricted zone."

"Yes, we found that out also. There is something very strange going on; Fuhrer Grumman said he hadn't heard anything about any unrest there of any sort. He had been getting reports of remarkable quiet for this area."

"I am getting a strange feeling from all of this." Riza commented.

"Me too," said Al, "something isn't right."

Roy took just a moment to decide what to do. "We will find transportation and leave as quickly as we can. I think Ederbrack is holding some secret that we aren't supposed to discover."

A short time later, the group was on the move again, this time in a horse buggy. The road seemed deserted, with no one coming or going. Heavy trees lined the way, with large felids of neatly kept vines stretched away over gently rolling hills. From between the trees they caught a glimpse of the town, nestled at the base of a large mountain. Smoke from chimneys curled into the air.

It wasn't until they got closer that Riza noticed something. "Doesn't that seem to be a lot of smoke?"

The others craned their necks, trying to see. "That does seem too much for just kitchen stoves." Said Ed.

Havok shook the reins of the horse, urging it to go faster. Entering the village, they could see that many of the houses had been demolished, some still burning slightly. People hurried through the streets, casting dirty looks at the cart as it rolled past. One man even went so far as to spit in their direction, muttering about military dogs.

"What happened?" Al stared wide-eyed as the destruction.

"What ever it was, it wasn't pretty." Riza laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Apparently," Havok added, "the military was involved, and not well liked because of it."

Roy held up a hand for Havok to stop the cart, he then dismounted. "Alright, we will split up into groups and scout around, see if you can find anything pertaining to-"

His sentence was cut short by angry yelling and the tramping of feet down the street. He turned in surprise to see a mass of people people bearing down on them, crude homemade weapons, and a few ancient guns being waved viciously in the air, to the accompaniment of shouting.

"You caught us by surprise last time, it won't be so easy now!"

"You give back what you took!"

"Get the military scum! We will make them pay!"

Roy pushed the others to safety behind the wagon, then turned holding up his hand to pacify the riot, "We haven't come to hurt anyone, please everyone calm down!"

The crowd seemed to settle when they say the peaceful stance of the group of friends. Perhaps it was the two boys, but the people began to appear hesitant about attacking. Suddenly though, from the back of the crowd came an increased yell of rage, as someone shouted curses on the dogs of the military. The crowd swarmed forward, hurling stones and insults.

Like a spark, the people riled again- a gunshot rang out, no one quite sure who had fired. Then all chaos broke loose. The crowd swarmed forward, hurling stones and insults.

Riza seemed incapable of movement as she stared at the back of Roy's shoulder, where a crimson stain was rapidly spreading. It wasn't until he grunted and toppled forward that she found herself able to move. From somewhere far away she heard herself scream his name- funny how familiar his rarely used first name sounded to herself- and the she was grabbing hold of his jacket and lowering him to the ground to rest on her lap. She could feel a swarm of people around her, as Al yelled for his brother and the crowd rushed upon them. But all she could focus on was the body she cradled in her arms, tense with pain as blood drained out from the wound, leaving behind a rapidly colorless face and blueing lips.

 **And another melodramatic cliff hanger. Lol sorry! (not very sorry though)**

 **Leave a review, tell me what can be fixed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**And once again… please review, comment, criticize, etc.**

 **I still don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Dammit.**

In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 7

Havok grabbed Ed by the collar and rolled the two of them under the wagon, out of the danger of the riot. They could see feet stamping by, raising dust in the street.

"My brother is still out there!" Ed squirmed and kicked, trying to loosen Havok's grip on him. "Let me go, dammit!"

"Shut up! You'll only get us killed or hurt, and then you won't be any help to Al at all."

Suddenly, the crowd seemed to disperse as a heavily booted-man came rushing upon the scene followed by several other men. The crowd allowed them to take control, emotion that had been volatile seemed to dissipate before the man and his group of subordinates. The man began to yell orders, telling everyone to go home and then commanding his men to collect the "military dogs".

The two under the wagon strained to hear or catch a glimpse of what was happening. It was tortuous for Ed to hear his brother calling for him. Someone grabbed Al and flung him over their shoulder, while others hustled Riza to her feet and tried to force Roy to stand. Havok bit his lip as he heard his commander cry out in pain as someone kicked him in the ribs. Riza broke from the man holding her and rushed to his side, helping him to stand. The two were then hustled down the street, leaving Havok grinding his teeth and Ed white knuckled in rage.

"We have to follow those bastards and see where they took Al!" Ed moved to roll out from under the wagon, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, we will. But first we have to make sure the coast is clear."

Havok peeked out. Strangely, the road was deserted. The people had come as quickly as they had appeared. He found one of Riza's pistols lying on the ground, which he stuffed into the waistband of his pants. Turning to Ed he gestured that it was all safe. With a silent agreement, the two headed off toward where they had seen the others taken.

The others were dragged through the streets toward an older, more secluded part of town. The streets became windy and tight, with stairways leading off into unknown rooms in the high uneven buildings above. Riza tried to support Roy as best she could, but there was only so much she could do as they were hustled along. He grunted in pain with every step, his jaw clenched tightly as he tried to hold in the sounds.

They were led into an ancient cathedral, with high arches and dark corridors. Deeper in they went, down a flight of stairs. The original mass of people had dwindled to a handful of rough dirty men who pushed and showed to hurry their captives along. Finally, at the end of a dank hallway they were shoved into a small room, lit by a single candle. The man carrying AL dropped him to the floor and slammed the door after them.

"Is he alright?" AL hurried to help Riza lower Roy into a sitting position.

" _He_ will be fine," Roy gritted out, "and _he_ is still alive and able to hear you talking about him. I've had far worse, this is only a little scratch."

His sentence was cut short by a hiss of pain as Riza lifted his arm to be able to remove his shirt. She unbuttoned it deftly and pulled it aside and then off his arms to reveal a ragged hole in his shoulder, a little below his collarbone. Blood covered his fair skin, streaking his torso with a terrifying deep red.

"Hell! Lieutenant, be a little rougher will you?"

Ignoring his outburst, she set to work to staunch the flow of blood. "Al, find me something use for bandages, and help me hold this shirt in place."

She handed him the shirt she had just taken from Roy and then guided his hands to place it against his shoulder. Al had gone pale, staring in horror at the gruesome sight. Beneath his hands, Roy squirmed and ground his teeth, fighting the pain that rolled in white hot waves over his entire body.

"I'm so sorry sir! I'm not meaning to hurt you." AL apologized, but Roy cut him off, speaking through clenched jaws.

"No apologies Al, you…" he gasped, trying to form words, "you are doing what needs to be done."

Meanwhile, Riza ran her hand swiftly down his front, then shook her head in frustration. "There's no exit wound. You know what that means, sir." She shared a look with him, both of them knowing what needed to be done, and how unpleasant it was going to be.

"I know Lieutenant. Best to get it over with now. There is a knife in my back pocket."

Havok and Ed had followed as closely as they dared, until they saw the group disappear into the cathedral. They darted through dim hallways, slipping behind doors whenever they heard someone approach. In one hall, they barely had time to jump behind a large wall tapestry before two of the brute men from the crowd came walking past.

"I can't imagine what he wants them for? I think we should have just gotten to kill them right in the road. That would show the military."

"You forget that the goal is to keep the military from coming here, not antagonize large forces. And anyway, it should be fun having them here. I heard he has plans for them."

The guard walked off, leaving the two military men behind them.

"Well at least we know they are here somewhere." Ed said with not very convincing optimizam.

Havok chewed on his cigarette, somehow still intact. "We need to find them and get them out quick though, before it's too late. And who could this mysterious 'He' person be?"

"I don't know, but let's go before either of us finds out."

The two of them hurried out, keeping to the shadows so as to remain out of sight. They made their way to another part of town, slightly less crumbling and old. Slipping into a storage building that seemed to be deserted they paused to catch their breath. LArge empty shelving units ran the length of the building, with a small cubicle at one end, where a supervisor would be stationed when the building was in use.

"We need somewhere to hide and plan our next move." Ed was slightly out of breath. "We also need clothes that will be less noticeable than military uniforms."

"I agree. I think we should contact Fuhrer Grumman if we can and see if we can get back up. There might be a phone down in that little room"

They tended to go see about a phone, then the two froze as they heard a noise behind them.

"What was that? It came from behind the crates."

"I don't know," Havok crept forward, "but I think there is someone over there!"

With the horrid, bloody affair over, Roy lay quietly with his head pillowed in Riza's lap, her hand absently stroking his hair. He had passed out halfway through, which was a mercy both to him and to the two who were attempting to remove the bullet lodged near his shoulder blade. Try as he had, he couldn't stop himself from jerk in in pain and Al had been forced to hold his arms as Riza dug with the little pocket knife.

As surgical procedures go, it was very crude and hadn't even been stitched, but the bullet was out and the bleeding had slowed so small miracles were to be thankful for. Al watched as Riza played with a loose strand of Roy's hair, twirling it between her fingers, her eyes not even seeming to see what she was doing.

"If the military removed the fraternization laws, would it change anything for the two of you?" He finally asked.

She looked up started, like a terrified rabbit. "What do you mean?"

"I can tell you like him, and he likes you so if you could would you be together?"

She shook her head sadly. "No there is nothing between us..."

Al looked skeptical. "I can see something between you two. And I think you two would be perfect together, I mean you already work well together which must count for something."

"No, we are just, at least I hope, good reminds who share the same common goal." Then she looked up and in a moment of rare vulnerability she said, "Besides, he would never think of me in that way, no matter how much I might want him to."

What neither of then realized, was that Roy was not unconscious, but had heard their entire discussion. He lay, trying to make sense in his head what he had just heard. _Could she actually want me to view her as more than just a close colleague?_ It didn't seem possible. She had never shown interest in him, as far as he could tell. Heck, as far as he knew, she wasn't much interested in anyone- ever. This truly put things in a different perspective. Now, if only he could think of something other than the horrifying mind-numbing pain in his shoulder, life would be far more pleasant. He let his mind slip into the blissful emptiness of unconsciousness.

 **Poor Roy… if you have suggestions or ideas about where this should go, let me know. I have some idea(s) in my head but am always open for ideas. :]**

 **By the way, I also just realized my spacings aren't working, and that everything runs together like a giant paragraph. So I apologize about that.**


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